-2011. Everything was ready in my mind, but the final act of my blog came true after a tragic event.
The Van Earthquake struck on 23 October 2011. What I heard and saw on television brought me back to the Gölcük Earthquake of 1999. My past experiences began to come back to me one by one. I personally reacted to the Van earthquake in two ways. First, we sent two trucks of goods to Van through the Food Banking Association (now the Basic Needs Association, or TİDER), which we founded in 2010 and of which I was the founding president. The products we sent through the Governor’s Office were distributed throughout the region.
My second reaction was to publish my first article on 4 November 2011, and to launch my blog. This first article was about the earthquake. We had all experienced the 1999 earthquake. This article, which deeply affected me, and included a comparison of the Van and Gölcük Earthquakes, was also an indication that I would be covering social events, disasters, and tragedies on my blog and offering solutions. Those who want to read this article can click the link http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/bir-depremin-ardindan .
When I decided to publish my blog as a personal website, I wrote an article entitled Pura Vida, or ‘Imbuing Life With Meaning.’ (You can read it at http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/pura-vida-veya-yasami-anlamla-donatmak)
About Pura Vida
In this article, I hinted that I would share the Pura Vida philosophy with you in my blog posts and do my best to spread positive culture in our beautiful country. In the last paragraph of the article, I commented on the Pura Vida philosophy:
I hope you enjoy this journey of cultural exchange that will span many years as much as I do. At this point, I’d like to touch on the meaning of the term Pura Vida, which appears in the title of my article. This philosophical approach, unique to Costa Rica, can be interpreted in English as ‘pure life,’ ‘beautiful life,’ ‘living to the fullest,’ or ‘positive life.’ Regardless of its use, it always reflects a positive expression. My understanding of Pura Vida ‘s ‘positive lifestyle’ is this: Life is beautiful to the extent that it is imbued with meaning. Therefore, we must take responsibility and strive to create what is positive and meaningful. This is the fundamental reason for the existence of my website, which I aim to enrich every day with your contributions and participation.
Just looking around, I’ve written about 150 articles since I first explained the fundamental reason for my blog’s existence. While I wrote sporadically and sporadically in the early years, by 2016 I’d established a structured approach. Now, I manage to write around 30-40 articles a year. I’m personally proud that even when I have a very busy schedule, I somehow manage to find the time to write these articles—on planes, in the car, at night, and on weekends. I have so much to share. If I had the time, I could list 50 articles in a row. I have them already in my head, but I don’t have the time. I hope the time I dedicate to this busy schedule is appreciated, and my readers can both enjoy and learn new things from my blog. And of course, I hope they share in the spread of positive culture and kindness through their reading.
In fact, I outlined the four main reasons I write this blog in the first installment of my ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQ) series. I’d like to recall these points here:
Sharing My Knowledge
First, I want to share my knowledge and experiences with more people through my writing while informing them in the process. In my business and personal life, in addition to my involvement in civil society activities, I travel extensively, talk to people, and learn new things. Besides being naturally curious, I constantly strive to improve myself. Thus, over time, I’ve accumulated a significant amount of knowledge on many important topics.
Disseminating the Pura Vida philosophy
Second, I have my own philosophy. The basis of this philosophy is “living life to the fullest.” I believe it’s crucial to work hard and fulfill your responsibilities while also truly enjoying life. That’s why I use Pura Vida as the motto on my blog.
Being known directly and accurately
Third, I write so you can get to know me better. Everyone has their own opinions about me and my family. What you read in the media or hearsay may not always reflect the truth. Inevitably, you may receive distorted information. I want you to hear about me and everything about me in my own words.
Relaxing by Sharing
Finally, I live in a seriously stressful environment, and two things unwind and relax me. The first is exercise, and the other is writing. I relax after completing my writing. I often finish my posts in one sitting.
As the interest in my blog posts and readership continues to grow, and I’ve also been shortlisted for the Golden Spider platform’s ‘Best Individual Blog’ Award, I wanted to reiterate the fundamentals of my work.
Speaking of the Golden Spider organization, I’d like to share the answer to question 51 in the Frequently Asked Questions section here:
I’m delighted that my blog, where I share my knowledge and experiences as much as I can amidst my busy schedule and share the Pura Vida philosophy, made it to the finals of the Golden Spider. It’s truly rewarding to see my efforts recognized and to raise awareness.
Here’s the information about the event provided on the Altın Örümcek website: The Golden Spider Web Awards, Turkey’s first and only independent web awards organization, has revealed the finalists with the highest scores in 29 different categories, based on the jury’s evaluations. Unlike the jury evaluations, a public vote will be held to determine internet users’ favorites and will continue until 28 September. The web projects that garner the most likes in each category will be selected as the public’s favorites.
Last days to support with your vote
If you like my blog, let me tell you how to vote. To vote, visit https://www.altinorumcek.com/Halk-Oylamasi/. To choose the public’s favorites, you can log in with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ accounts to start voting. You know who to vote for in the ‘Individual Blog’ category.
Let’s conclude this post with our philosophy:
For a beautiful, happy, healthy, and meaningful life; PURA VİDA!!!
I’m sharing this image, which I took at a festival in Kırklareli, as a representation. It’s up to you to decide what you want to interpret it as.
Note: Since the word ‘blog’ hasn’t yet been officially adopted into Turkish, it’s difficult to find resources on how to spell it when it takes a vowel suffix. However, the two links below provide quite convincing evidence that it’s correct to write ‘bülü’ (blogger) rather than ‘blogu’ and ‘bloga’ rather than ‘bloga.’ Therefore, I’ve decided to adopt the use of “ğ” in vowel suffixes from now on. Here are the relevant links, including the Turkish Language Association (TDK)’s confirmation:
http://ozgurturanli.com/blog-kelimesinin-dogru-kullanimi-bloga-mi-bloga-mi-diye-yazilir/
https://www.evrengunlugu.net/2017/07/08/blogu-mu-blogu-mu-yazilir/
Tag: lifestyle
